This week in Christian history: 21 Copts martyred, Philander Chase becomes Episcopal bishop

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, February 11, 2024

Philander Chase becomes head of Episcopal Church – Feb. 15, 1843

Philander Chase (1775-1852), a western frontier missionary and the sixth person to serve as presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Philander Chase, an Episcopal Church leader who helped found Kenyon College in Ohio, was made presiding bishop of the mainline Protestant denomination.

A native of Cornish, New Hampshire, who was born during the American Revolution, Chase was known for missionary activities in the frontier western United States and serving as bishop of Ohio.

Chase became presiding bishop by virtue of being the most senior bishop in the denomination, replacing the Rev. Alexander Viets Griswold, who had died on the same day.

“Chase … faced the death of his wife, Mary, and of three of his children (two of whom did not see their first birthday), and he endured constant attacks of his enemies, and a life of dire financial straits, for both him, and his institutions,” noted Kenyon College.

“Nevertheless, Chase was able to overcome these hardships and achieve his goals of bringing religion and education to the west, thus establishing himself as a seminal figure in the history of religion, education, and the American frontier.”